International Recruitment: why engaging with candidates across borders is more important than ever

Written by Niddia Paauwe

Our modern world is becoming seemingly smaller by the day. Globalization has created a market that is increasingly dynamic and competitive, including the search for talent. Connected by modern technology and transport links, cultures continue to overlap and people are working together in a market that is more global than ever before. The battle for talent has become truly global with companies increasing diversity in their workforce by hiring specialist talent from all over the world. This trend is further fuelled by skill shortages resulting in the need widen their talent pool to find the right people. In order to create a strong workforce and gain a competitive edge, more and more organizations are looking to recruit across borders.

European countries are suffering from inefficiencies in their labour markets, characterized by labour and skill shortages and mismatches. In fact, the European labour market is expected to lose an additional 30 million people in the next 20 years. As a result, employers will face the challenge of finding people with the right experience and skills to replace this lost talent. Worldwide, it is predicted that in the next 20 years there will be 200 million unfilled jobs for skilled workers (Europe’s world, 2013). The demand for international talent is rising, and fortunately, so is the supply of people willing to work abroad. People become expatriates for a variety of reasons; from economic opportunity to looking for a life-changing experience. The Boston Consulting Group and The Network released global research in 2014 indicating willingness to work abroad as the new ‘normal’.

While both demand and supply are rising, only 25% of organizations believe their HR teams excel at sourcing international talent and are able to support their globalization strategy. Recruiters selecting employees for international placements are faced with some critical barriers in their recruitment process. Interviewing candidates from different countries and time zones, along with challenges in checking candidate qualifications and cultural fit are making it hard to meet the organization’s talent acquisition demands in a time and cost-effective way. Many of these challenges can be addressed with a digital recruitment and interview process. International recruiters using online video interviews are able to pre-screen candidates around the world in a time and cost effective way, get a better picture of the candidate earlier in the process and enhance their quality-of-hire.

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